Chapter 3: Ding Xun's Inspection

  Ding Yunyi's bravery greatly boosted the morale of the Ming naval officers and soldiers, and also greatly weakened the Dutch people's will to fight.

  Not long after the battle, the Dutch on this ship chose to surrender. This also became the first Dutch warship captured by the Ming naval forces.

  In this battle, the Ming naval forces won a complete victory. Four Dutch warships were sunk or burned, one was captured intact, and the rest of the Dutch fleet was severely damaged before fleeing. Meanwhile, the fifty pirate ships brought by Liu Xiang to assist in the battle were completely annihilated.

  "Long live!" The cheers echoed across the sea, this is a great victory for the Ming Dynasty's naval battle!

  Watching those cheering brothers, Ding Yunyi also felt the thrill and excitement brought by battle for the first time.

  Although it is now the sixth year of Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty has internal troubles and external threats, but the Ming Navy is still invincible, killing the European sea hegemon Netherlands, losing its helmet and armor, suffering heavy losses.

  Ding Yunyi couldn't understand why such a great Ming dynasty would fall just like that.

  Bao Ronghua walked over with his injured ribs covered, extremely grateful to Ding Yunyi for saving his life and thanked him repeatedly.

  The naval battle was won in such a way that even Zou Veyiun, the governor of Fujian province, had not anticipated.

  In this naval battle, two people performed exceptionally well. One was the vanguard, General Zheng Zhilong, and the other was Ding Yunyi, son of Ding Yuanyao, who was in charge of military affairs in Fujian.

  Ding Yunyi, although belonging to Zheng Zhilong's fleet, had a special identity, with his old father Ding Yuanshou standing behind him. Zheng Zhilong deliberately made friends with him and specially added a heavy stroke to Ding Yunyi when reporting their military achievements.

  And so Ding Yunyi, as a small sailor, was able to meet with the Fujian Governor and Commander-in-Chief Zou Weiqian along with many other generals and deputy generals.

  "This one move, thousands of enemy ships were burned and sunk, 118 enemy personnel were captured alive, five giant warships were destroyed, and one giant warship was seized. The Governor-General of Taiwan (Putilov) resigned as Commander-in-Chief after the naval battle..."

  After finishing reading the report to the imperial court, Zou Weiqian, who was overjoyed, changed his tone: "This battle was able to achieve a great victory, thanks to the wise leadership of His Majesty and the bravery of General Zheng Zhilong, who led by example and fought valiantly. I have already recommended him for promotion based on merit, and I think the imperial court's reward will arrive soon."

  Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed and hastily made a few modest remarks. He looked at Ding Yuanshou, who had been sitting silently under Zou Weiqian's command: "Your Excellency, in this battle, my fleet's sailor Ding Yunyi was the first to fight bravely and get close to the two Red Barbarian ships. Yunyi fought fearlessly and was the first to board the ship, killing two of the Red Barbarians' brave warriors and severely injuring one, forcing them to surrender. We captured a large Red Barbarian ship, which is indeed a great achievement. I must recommend him for an award, and I ask Your Excellency to promote him."

  Zou Weiqian and Ding Yuanshou had been friends for a long time, and he had originally intended to promote Ding Yunyi, but considering Ding Yuanshou's eccentric temper, he temporarily suppressed his words, and now Zheng Zhilong spoke out first, which was the best.

  "This, Item Wen is brave, really beyond my expectation..." Zou Weiqian called out Ding Yunyi's courtesy name "Item Wen", then paused for a moment: "The governor has decided to make Item Wen the commander-in-chief..."

  As soon as the words came out, Ding Yuanxiao had already spoken first: "Ding Yunyi is still young and has not yet turned 19 this year. He has no merits or achievements to his name and relies solely on his bravery and strength. How can he be a battalion commander? I think being a patrol officer would be sufficient for him. In the Penghu area, 'Penghu Biao' Battalion Commander Hong Diaoyuan had previously petitioned that 'Penghu Biao' was still short of one patrol officer. I think Ding Yunyi could go to that place to take up the post."

  This single sentence reduced Ding Yunyi's originally secured seventh-rank battalion commander position to a ninth-rank patrol inspector.

  Ding Yunyi didn't care about the official rank, he knew that "Penghu Biao" was a formal purely military unit of Penghu, previously called "Penghu You", this military unit was temporarily disbanded due to the Dutch attack, and later the Ming dynasty re-established it on the condition of not interfering with the affairs of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan.

  During the Tianshun era of the Ming dynasty, the original "Penghu Patrol" was upgraded to "Penghu Battalion", and the highest commanding officer was also promoted from General to Commander, but because Penghu was a barren and poor place, no commander had ever taken office, and it was always managed by the General who was in charge of military affairs and local people's livelihood.

  It doesn't matter how big the official is, but the problem is that Penghu today is not the Penghu of Ding Yunyi's era. It's desolate to death! Ding Yunyi remembered that there were only three things that could be eaten: sweet potatoes, peanuts, and millet. Moreover, the climate in Penghu is very different from Taiwan, and even plants are hard to find!

  Throwing myself into such a place is really going to cost me my life! Am I really Ding Yuan's "son" after all?

  Zou Weiqian's face showed hesitation, and he called Ding Yuanzhao to his side and said in a low voice: "Duan Ran brother, how can Penghu be stationed with people? You only had two daughters before, and it was easy to have Xiang Wen as a son. Why are you willing to send him to Penghu?"

  "General." Ding Yuanzhao said calmly, "It's because I had a son at an old age that I love him deeply and have high expectations for him. Xiang Wen has been clever since he was young, but his personality is weak. That's why I sent him to the army to be tempered. In just a few short months, General, look! Xiang Wen has changed into a completely different person. He can even defeat strong enemies with his own hands. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I almost wouldn't dare recognize that this is indeed my son."

  Ding Yuan is really a different person now.

  Ding Yuanzhao continued, "My intention is to let him go to Penghu for another year of training, and then he will be a good material in the future. He is only eighteen years old and three months now, very young, what's wrong with letting him suffer a bit?"

  "Duan Ran, my brother Duan Ran." Zou Weijian shook his head repeatedly, having no way to deal with this good friend: "I'll just go along with you, but if Madam comes knocking on the door in the future, don't blame me for it."

  Saying that, his face turned serious: "Ting Yunyi."

  "At your service!"

  "As soon as the two words 'humble official' came out, everyone couldn't help but laugh, and Ding Yuanzhao was so angry that his eyes were wide with rage."

  Ding Yunyi, even if he became a patrol officer, was only a minor ninth-grade official, where did he have the qualifications to call himself "humble job"? But seeing everyone laughing, Ding Yunyi was inexplicably confused and didn't know what he said wrong.

  Zou Weiqian smiled and let it pass, thinking that Ding Yunyi was too nervous in front of the officials, which led to his mistake. He didn't mind: "Ding Yunyi, you have made great contributions this time and should be heavily rewarded. However, considering your youth and lack of experience, I am appointing you as the Patrol Officer of Penghu. Are you willing?"

  At this point, can Ding Yunyi say he's unwilling? He hardened his scalp: "Thank you, Commander!"

  In his heart, he scolded himself thousands of times and ended up in a desolate place like Penghu. What kind of peace is this?

  Nor does he know if the previous "Ding Yunyi" had offended this old stubborn man, causing him to take revenge on his son.